


Underneath the Tree

by phoenixprentiss



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Tree, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-03 00:05:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12737028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixprentiss/pseuds/phoenixprentiss
Summary: This is the product of watching three Hallmark Christmas movies in one weekend. Jemily Christmas fluff :)





	Underneath the Tree

Emily Prentiss was a firm believer in fake Christmas trees.

“They’re better for the environment,” she insisted. “Not only does it save money, too, but then we don’t have to deal with all the pine needles either.” It was the third week of December, they were finally on break, and JJ was ready to decorate for Christmas.

“Let me guess,” JJ replied. “Growing up, all you got for Christmas was sweaters and socks because your mom never paid enough attention. And you were completely deprived of the experience of going out to get a real tree.”

Emily only raised her eyebrows. “You’ve gotten pretty good at this profiling thing.”

“We have to get a real tree, Emily! Otherwise it won’t feel like a real Christmas.” JJ exclaimed.

“Fine. Where do we get one?”

“A farm. And we cut it down ourselves.”

“JJ, we don’t even own a saw.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

Hours later, Emily was driving in what felt like the middle of nowhere as JJ fed her directions. The road was twisty and the clouds hung darkly overhead, but JJ insisted that she knew exactly where she was going.

They soon turned down a less twisty road into a sprawling farm with hundreds of trees. As soon as Emily stepped out of the car, heavy raindrops began to fall, and she was very glad that JJ had suggested they wear boots.

JJ came around from the back carrying a saw. “Morgan lent it to me,” she said, handing it over to Emily so that she could pull up her hood. Together the two women headed down the rows of trees.

“Isn’t this one good?” Emily asked, pointing arbitrarily at a tree to her left. They’d been walking for several minutes now, and the rain was beginning to pour. It was clear that Emily was only here for JJ’s sake, as it was cold and she just wanted to get home. Her jeans were soaked through to her legs and she was beginning to shiver, but she trudged on anyway when JJ insisted that the tree Emily had found just wasn’t the one. JJ was one of the few people she would do this for.

They walked for a few more moments in the heavy rain before JJ stopped before a tree that was at least six feet tall. “This is it,” She said. “Our tree.”

“It’s huge,” Emily answered.

“It’s nice and full and tall. It’s perfect.” JJ reached out to feel the branches. “And the branches are sturdy so it can hold all of our ornaments.”

“So now what?”

“You stand by the side and hold on to the trunk from up high. I’ll get down there and cut it down.”

Emily did as JJ said, reaching through the thick branches and grabbing ahold of the trunk with her gloved hand. The tree, too, was wet and began to soak through Emily’s thin, knit glove. Her fingers started to go numb as JJ sawed away, and it didn’t seem like she was making very much progress.

“Do you need help?” Emily called out. JJ pulled herself out from underneath the tree, looked at Emily, and said, “Maybe.”

“Then we’ll switch.”

Emily was just thrilled to get down on her hands and knees in the mud with Morgan’s saw. JJ had cut a sizable incision into the tree and the trunk wasn’t too thick, but still more needed to be done. JJ held firmly onto the tree as Emily cut, and finally, the tree came loose, falling into JJ’s arms. It was heavy enough that the two women had to carry it together, back up the muddy and slippery hill to where they would pay.

The next issue: getting it home. Emily realized it as soon as they got up the hill that they were going to have to tie this tree to the top of her sedan. And since it was raining, once they got home it would have to dry. No wonder her mother had always had the same fake tree year after year.

JJ paid as they tied up the tree, and the workers helped strap it to the top of the car. Driving home, the car was a lot heavier due to the tree, and Emily was sure her jeans were making the leather seats wet. But JJ turned the radio on to Christmas music, as as they drove through the rain and warmed up in the car, Emily didn’t regret any of it.

“We don’t have a holder, do we?” JJ asked, even though she already knew the answer. “We’ll have to get one. Tonight, if that’s okay, so that it can dry overnight.”

They stopped by the store first, and JJ ran in to buy the cheapest Christmas tree holder she could find, and then they finally went home. Emily was exhausted; all she wanted to do was strip off her soaked clothes and take a warm bath, but there was still more work to do. They took off their rain boots and hung their wet socks over a chair to dry, but even in warm, dry socks, Emily’s toes remained numb. They set the tree up in the stand in the kitchen, so that it could dry overnight, spreading out towels underneath for it to drip onto.

Finally Emily got to take off the heavy, wet layers that felt like they were smothering her. All the chairs surrounding the dining room table had clothes hanging on them; jackets and hats and shirts. Emily regretted wearing tight jeans, as they were difficult to peel off of her cold, clammy skin. JJ had been wearing fewer layers than Emily but somehow didn’t seem as cold, so as Emily slowly stripped, JJ had cleaned the tub and begun to run a bath. Emily was forever grateful for her girlfriend and the fact that she always seemed to understand.

Emily lowered herself into the water slowly; the water felt burning hot to her numb toes. After a few moments she adjusted to the heat, and JJ returned from getting out the box of ornaments and making sure the tree was secure and had enough water in the base.

JJ sat down in front of the tub, already having changed into flannel pajama pants and an old sweatshirt. “Was that so bad?” She asked Emily with a smile.

“Aside from the rain, it was fine.” Emily answered.

“You have to admit, even if it wasn’t necessarily fun, it was an experience.”

“It definitely was,” Emily answered. “But since I was with you, it was still fun.”

The women were quiet for a moment, until JJ asked, “Can I join you?”

“Of course,” Emily answered, moving aside so that there was room for her girlfriend. JJ folded up her pajamas and underwear and set them on the counter before joining Emily in the warm water. There was barely enough room for both women to fit in the tub, but with some maneuvering they managed to get into an arrangement that was comfortable for both of them.

As badly as Emily wanted to stay there all night, as the water grew cold they both got out. JJ went first and brought back a towel for Emily. JJ dried off and put her pajamas back on, and as Emily dried herself, JJ returned from the bedroom with Emily’s own pajamas.

“You’re too good to me,” Emily said softly as she took the clothes, unwrapping herself from the towel so that she could put them on.

She went back to the bedroom to find that JJ had already put on their heaviest blanket and turned down the covers. After brushing their teeth, they retreated to bed.

“Thank you for today,” JJ said. “I knew you were cold and dragged you out anyway.”

“It was fine. I didn’t mind too much.”

JJ smiled, leaning over to kiss the brunette gently before turning off the light.

The tree was dry by morning, and sitting there in the middle of the kitchen, it looked even bigger than it had while still at the farm.

They had all day to get the tree set up, but hardly knew where to start. The women hadn’t been living together for very long, and neither of them had very many Christmas decorations. The bulk of their ornaments was a single box of purple and silver balls. Upon adding them to the tree, they looked at it from afar, yet something was still missing.

“We need lights,” JJ said, breaking the silence. 

“True,” Emily replied, and off they went to the store to buy indoor lights.

“White or multicolor?” Emily asked, holding up two boxes of lights.

“Hmm,” JJ answered. “Well the white would match the ornaments we have on right now,”

“Or, we could get rainbow, because we’re not straight.”

“Smart,” JJ said, taking the box of multicolored lights from Emily and wandering off to look at the ornament section. After putting the other box back, she joined JJ, who had picked up a snowflake ornament. “We should get a couple of these too,”

“Alright.” JJ picked out silver snowflakes and carried them by their loop as they made their way to the front of the store to pay. Once they got home, it was decided that it was Emily’s job to get the lights onto the tree.

It turned out to be harder than she thought. Once plugged in, they somehow had to spiral around the entire tree and rest nicely on the branches. She ended up with the lights weirdly proportioned on one side more than the other, but JJ said it looked fine so they left it.

JJ added the snowflakes on each side of the tree, and despite being somewhat empty and lacking a star on top, it was still a Christmas tree. And what really mattered was that JJ had managed to convince stubborn Emily Prentiss to get a real tree.

“It’s not perfect,” JJ remarked.

“Yeah, but I love you and I love our crooked tree.”


End file.
